An Itachi Love Story
by MarchingPatriot93
Summary: This is a re-write of a previous story of mine from another site. Please NO Flames! Kari is the 18 year-old cousin of our young Naruto Uzumaki. She's smart, beautiful, and powerful. But what will unfold when she finds true love? Rated 'M' for later chaps.
1. Intro and Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own "Naruto" or any characters in reference to Naruto…Naruto is copyright to Masashi Kishimoto.

Claimer: I do own my OCs that appear in the story.

_12 years ago during the Kyuubi attack_

I was being carried away from the area that harbored a large group of Konohagakure ninja. The ninja formed a large arc in the clearing; many of these ninja were slain and lying on the ground behind the arc of living nins.

"Keep it from entering the village until the Fourth arrives!" I heard a ninja yell to the group.

"Let me go! My dad is still fighting out there!" I yelled as I struggled in the ninja's grasp.

"Your father had requested that you be taken home Kari." He replied as he jumped through the trees.

"What?" Was all I could say before a large toad summon appeared in the clearing, facing the Kyubi No Yoko.

I looked up towards the Fourth Hokage. There wasn't much that I could see from where I was, but I did notice his striking blond hair before a burst of light emitted from where he was standing. I closed my eyes quickly and turned my head in another direction. When the light disappeared from my view, I re-opened my eyes and noticed that the large toad was gone, as well as the Kyubi No Yoko.

_12 Years Later_

That was when I was only 6 years old; I'm 18 now, and one of Konohagakure's strongest ninja. My name is Kari Uzumaki. My mother and father are both powerful ninjas, but my mother prefers to stay away from the battle field now, mostly because of my younger sister, Youri.

I, myself, am a powerful ninja, but everybody misses the part about me being a jinchuriki. When I was very young, mainly when I was born, an unknown Tailed-Beast attacked the village. There were no other infants that could maintain the great demon, but my body was considered an option. In order to help save the village, both my mother and father agreed to let the Elders use my body for the Container of the demon.

My demon is the Twelve-Tailed Demon Fox sealed within my body. I have given my fox the name Kasia, out of the fact that I can talk to it, and find out its gender. Or should I say HER gender. I guess that you can say that my life has been rather twisted; but only with the demon, right? Wrong. My life has had all kinds of twists and turns in it; some great things have happened, and then there are things that I'd like to forget. I guess it should start out from the beginning…

_18 Years Earlier..._

"She's so beautiful Katari." A male's deep voice resounded in my ears.

"She is Ashitaka." A woman replied longingly. "What should we name her?" She questioned.

"Well, she has your hair, but we have yet to see her eyes." The man said to the woman.

I opened my eyes, the light stinging them slightly, but I then saw the man and woman staring down at me. The man reached his big hand over to me and ran it through my hair. I giggled under his soft touch, and reached my hands up to grab his broad arm. He put his hand down by my tiny hands, and I grasped his big fingers in my tiny fists. I looked up at the woman, who had beautiful red hair and dashing blue eyes. A smile was on her face, even though she looked really tired.

"I say we name her Kari." The man said as he looked at the woman.

"I think that's a beautiful name." She said as she looked at the man, and then back at me. "Hello Kari, I'm your mommy." She said as she cuddled me closer to her.

"And I'm your daddy." The man said with a smile.

A new man ran into the room and stopped in front of my father and mother. He looked really sad, and his eyes had water in them. He looked at my daddy and then mommy, and then he looked at me. I smiled at him, and his face faltered. Mommy hugged me closer to her and started to cry. The water fell from her cheeks onto my face. I just looked at her, and then the man again. Daddy reached for me and grabbed me out of mommy's hands, handing me to the other man.

The man ran out of the room with me in his arms, I was crying now too because I wasn't with my mommy. It started to rain, and little drops of water hit my face, making me cold. The man held me tighter, stopping in a big area with no trees. He looked down at me with a frown on his face.

"I'm sorry little one." He said before he hit the ground with his hand.

A giant frog was standing underneath us. Other people started to jump on top of the big frog's head, and took me from the other man. They sat around me, putting black marks on my back with a small brush, and did a lot of things with their hands. They all stopped moving their hands and yelled out at the big fox in front of us.

"Death God Sealing Jutsu!" They all yelled out.

There was a bright light that hurt my eyes, making me cry again. The big frog reached his tongue out and touched the side of my face with it. I looked at its tongue and saw a lot of big piercings in it. The other people and the big fox were all gone. The only person left was the man from earlier. He wrapped me back up in my blanket, a sad look on his face.

"**Jiraiya, are you sure that she can handle that demanding fox?**" A deep voice said.

"Of course I am Gamabunta. Why would I have chosen her if she couldn't?" The man named Jiraiya asked.

The voice didn't say anything else. I looked up at the man named Jiraiya and saw his long, white hair. I grabbed at it, pulling on the edges of the spiky hair. He looked down at me and smiled. The frog disappeared and the man jumped into a tree. The rain got heavier and Jiraiya ran back to the room that mommy and daddy were in. I fell asleep in Jiraiya's arms, his white hair in my hands.

I don't remember how long I was sleeping, but when I woke up, Jiraiya was gone and I was lying on mommy's stomach. She looked down at me with a smile on her face, and I smiled back at her.

"Good morning, sleepy head." She said as she picked me up and cuddled me in her arms.

I wiggled around in her arms and grabbed at her long hair. She smiled at my antics and pulled her head back. She put me back down on her stomach and reached over to a table next to her.

"Your friend Jiraiya left you something." She said as she grabbed two stuffed animals; a red frog and a red fox.

I grabbed the frog and cuddled it, using the fox as a pillow on mommy's stomach. She smiled down at me, her eyes looking into mine. I yawned and went back to sleep on her stomach, her hand rubbing the top of my head, her other hand holding onto my back.

_One week later_

Mommy held me in her arms while she was walking down the street. She looked down at me and smiled. I was holding my stuffed red frog in my arms, cuddling it. She laughed a little at my childish game of cuddling the life out of a stuffed animal.

"We're home Kari." She said as she walked into a new room.

"This is where you live now sweetheart." Daddy said as he walked up behind mommy, my fox in his hand.

I stared around the new room in wonder, my eyes looking at all of the shiny things that caught my attention. Mommy smiled and daddy nodded towards the stairs to the second floor. They walked up the stairs together and into another new room; my room. I looked at all of the stuffed frogs and foxes, my eyes skimmed the fox pictures on the wall. Then my eyes caught sight of the picture of Jiraiya and the big frog from before. I held my arms out towards the picture, whining a little, and looking up at my mommy. She walked over to the picture and held me up to it. I smiled at the picture and touched it with my hands.

"I guess she really likes Jiraiya." Daddy said as he walked over to us.

"She sure does, Ashitaka." Mommy replied as she brought me back against her body.

Daddy rubbed my head as I yawned a little. Mommy smiled down at me and walked over to my new bed. She laid me down in it and covered me with a blanket that had a frog on it. Mommy kissed my forehead and ran her hand over my hair. Daddy did the same, but he traced a finger over my cheek as I fell asleep.

_8 Years Later_

"Kari, sweetheart, can you come here for a minute?" Mom called from the living room.

"Just a second!" I called back down from my room.

I looked down at the picture of Jiraiya again and smiled. His large toad summon was standing behind him, with a smile on his face. I put the picture back on my nightstand, and looked over at my two stuffed animals from Jiraiya. My little red frog, Gama; and my red fox, Tsuki. I quickly ran down the stairs and into the living room; a large grin on my face. Dad was sitting next to mom on the couch, his arm over her shoulder.

"What's up?" I asked as I sat next to mom on the couch, cuddling into her side.

"How would you like to be a big sister?" She asked as she looked down at me.

"Really?" I asked excitedly as I looked up at her, my 8 year-old charm shining through.

"Sure, if you want." She said with a sly smile on her face.

"I do!" I replied as I looked into her blue eyes. She laughed a little and wrapped her arm around my shoulders.

"Well, you are." She said as she looked down at my shining face.

"You're gonna have a baby?" I asked excitedly, she just nodded her head.

I hopped around the room with happiness. I quickly ran upstairs and into my bedroom again, closing the door behind me. I jumped onto my bed and cuddled the two stuffed animals. I looked over at the picture of Jiraiya and smiled. I grabbed the picture and held it close. I looked at it again and whispered to it, as if he could hear me through it.

"I'm gonna be a big sister Jiraiya!" I whispered happily.

I looked at the picture once more, and then put it back on my nightstand. I held the two stuffed animals in each arm, my frog-print blanket at my feet. I looked at all of the pictures of foxes and frogs on my walls; some were drawn by me, and others were pictures taken with my camera. I sat up in my bed and looked at my closet doors. I heard flapping wings in my window and looked over at it. There was a messenger pigeon sitting on my windowsill, with a message attached to its foot. I walked over to it, and took the message off of its foot. I opened the small parchment letter, and read it twice to be sure it was true.

_Kari,_

_I don't know if you remember me or not, but it's me, Jiraiya. I'm back in Konoha again, and was wondering if you wanted to sit and talk for a little while? If you say yes to that, you can meet me in the Hokage Mansion with the 3rd._

_Your pal,_

_Jiraiya._

I smiled down at the letter and ran back over to my closet, picking out some clothes, since it was early and I hadn't changed out of my pajamas yet. I grabbed a black tank-top, black baggy jeans, and black knee-high boots. I quickly changed into my clothes and pulled my hair into a pony-tail, my bangs hanging around my face. I quickly ran down the stairs and out the front door, racing towards the Hokage's Mansion to meet up with Jiraiya again.

_10 Minutes later_

I burst in through the door to the Hokage's office, and slumped over out of breath. I looked up and noticed the familiar white-haired Sannin. I ran over to him and hugged his waist.

"Jiraiya-sama!" I said with a smile on my face.

"Kari-chan." He replied as he returned the hug.

"Come on; let's head over to Ichiraku Ramen." He said as I nodded my head in agreement.

He started to walk out the door, and I followed after saying hi to the Third Hokage. We walked down the busy streets of Konohagakure, a smiled plastered on my face. He had his hand on my head, noticing how long my crimson hair had gotten. When we reached Ichiraku Ramen, we sat next to each other like we were family; and in a way we were.

"So, what's new shorty?" He asked, I just shrugged my shoulders.

"Not much Jiraiya-san. Except that I'm gonna be a big sister!" I squealed happily.

"Whoa, really?" He asked. I nodded my head. "That's a big responsibility." He said as he looked down at my happy face.

"I know, but mommy said she would help me be a good big sister." I said as I grabbed his spiky-white hair.

"Well, that's good to hear." He said as he tried to pull his hair back.

The two of us sat there for hours, talking and eating ramen. I asked Jiraiya to teach me to summon toads like him, and the poor man almost chocked on his ramen.

_3 Hours Later_

Jiraiya and I were walking back to my house, his hair in my hands. He walked up to the front door, knocking at least three times, before my mother answered the door. She looked extremely worried, until her eyes landed on me behind Jiraiya's leg.

"Kari! Where have you been?" She asked worriedly.

"Out with Jiraiya for ramen." I replied as I looked at her blue eyes.

She strangled me into a hug, pulling me closely into her body. She let go of me and dragged me into the house, Jiraiya following behind us, and sat me in the living room across from my father.

"Hi dad." I said sheepishly as I looked at the angered face of my father.

He just sighed at me and greeted Jiraiya with a smile and a handshake. The two men sat down on the couch together, conversing about some past battles. Mom came in and sat next to my father, who wrapped his arm around her shoulders. I just sat there, fiddling with my hair, and sighed as I looked down at the floor. Mom looked at me and sighed. She stood up from the couch and walked over to me, kneeling next to the chair I was sitting in.

"We were really worried about you, Kari." She said as she looked into my violet eyes.

"I know, but it's been years since I last saw Jiraiya-san. And I really wanted to see him." I replied as I looked down into her eyes.

"Yes, and it's the same for me and your father." She said with a slight smile.

"But it's different for me." I said with a frown.

"But this isn't." She said with a sly smile as she started to tickle me.

I rolled out of the chair and started to run across the room towards the stairs, mom trailing closely behind me, her arms outstretched towards me. I laughed and laughed as she tickled me again. I squirmed out of her grasp and ran upstairs, falling onto my bed after I ran into my room. Mom ran up after me and collapsed next to me on the bed, breathing heavily. I rolled over onto my side and cuddled up next to her. She wrapped her arms around me, her head resting above mine on my pillows.

"You know that your father and I love you more than anything, and we just want to protect you." She said as she ran her hand through my hair. I nodded my head.

"Yea, I know." I said sleepily.

She didn't respond because she had fallen asleep, I had fallen asleep a few minutes after she did.

_9 Months Later_

I was sitting in the living room by myself. Dad was on a mission, and mom was upstairs sleeping still. I stared at the book in my hands; _"For One More Day"_ Was the title of the book, and I had already finished reading it. Jiraiya was coming over later, and so was one of the medic-nins. I ran upstairs to my room and turned on my radio, dancing around to the song _'Hearts Burst Into Fire'_ by Bullet for My Valentine. Mom walked in a few minutes later, her now large stomach in front of her, and watched me dance around.

"Cool it on the music sweetheart." She said with a smile.

"Ok mom." I said as I turned the volume down a little.

"Good girl." She said with the same smile.

She left the doorway and walked downstairs to the kitchen to start breakfast. Jiraiya wouldn't be here until around lunch time, so I quickly changed into a black Bullet for My Valentine t-shirt, black jeans, and my black knee-high boots. I pulled my hair back into a high pony-tail, my bangs shielding my eyes. I looked at all of the pictures that were on my wall, mainly the ones with me and Jiraiya, and smiled at them. There were pictures with us and Gamabunta, his toad summon, pictures of us eating ramen together, pictures of us with my mom, and pictures of us with my dad and the 3rd. I walked over to the doorway and stood there.

"Kari, breakfast is ready dear!" Mom called up the stairs to my room.

"I'm on my way down mommy!" I called back as I walked over to the stairwell.

I walked down the stairs, jumping off of the last three, landing with a _thud_ on the first floor. Mom turned her head towards me, a small frown on her face, and looked at me. I gave her a thumbs-up, letting her know that I was fine. She turned back to the stove to finish the bacon, when someone knocked on the door.

"Kari, can you get that for me?" She asked with a smile.

"Sure mom." I said as I walked over to the door.

I opened the door, and there stood my white-haired Sannin buddy. I jumped on him, knocking him onto the ground.

"Jiraiya-san!" I yelled happily.

"Ow, Kari that hurt." He said as he stood up from the ground, rubbing his lower back.

I just rolled my eyes at him and walked back in the house, him following me at my heels. He walked into the kitchen and said hi to my mom before coming into the dining room to mess around with me.

"Your daughter is as stubborn as Ashitaka, Katari." He said with a playful smile on his face.

"She does have some of her father's traits, and stubbornness is one of them." Mom replied, the same smile on her face.

"I bet she got your strength though." He said as he looked back at my pregnant mother.

"I'm sure she did, but I never get to see it when she's out training with Ashitaka." She replied with a small frown on her face.

She walked out of the kitchen with two plates in her hands. I stood up and ran into the kitchen, grabbing the last plate of food for Jiraiya. Mom walked in and grabbed the cups and orange juice. She placed the juice in the center of the table, and the glasses in front of all of the plates. She silently, but slowly, sat down in her chair, her legs on the side of the chair to keep pressure off of her stomach. I looked over at Jiraiya with a skeptical look on my face.

"What happened to 'I won't be there until lunch time'?" I asked as I looked at the white-haired man.

"Well, your father sent me a letter yesterday, which I got today, that said to go over and stay with you and your mother." He said as he put a bacon strip in his mouth.

"Ok, whatever." I said with a smile on my face. I put another fork-full of scrambled eggs in my mouth.

Mom was smiling at the two of us, her eyes glistening in the light of the house. Her left arm was resting on her stomach, her hand lying off to the side of her stomach. She watched as I flicked some eggs at Jiraiya, hitting him in the cheek. She sighed half-heartedly as she watched Jiraiya toss a bacon strip at my head.

"Come on you two, no food fights this early in the morning." She said with a slight chuckle in her voice.

"He started it." I said defiantly.

"Don't pull that one on me Kari." He said as he pointed to the few speckles of eggs that stuck to his face.

I giggled at his slight misfortune, my canines from my demon projecting out from my smile. Mom looked at me sadly as she saw the sharp canines sticking out of my mouth. She jumped a little, shocked by a slight kick from my unborn sibling, and placed her had on her stomach gingerly. Her face gained a smile as she looked down at her stomach, then she looked over to me, my smile was growing as Jiraiya and I argued some more.

"Don't make me summon Gamabunta." Jiraiya threatened.

"You wouldn't dare." I said as I stared at him with threatening, playful, violet eyes.

"Try me." He replied with playful black eyes.

I stood up from the table, taking my empty dishes with me, and walked into the kitchen, discarding all utensils into the sink. While walking back from the kitchen, I yanked on Jiraiya's snow-white hair forcefully, and ran out the front door, a playfully angered Sannin following closely behind me. Mom stood up as quickly as she could, using great force to push herself out of the chair. She walked over to the door in time to see Jiraiya's summon, Gamabunta, picking me up with his pierced tongue.

"Stop it Gama-san! That tickles!" I yelled happily as the large toad continued to tickle my stomach and neck with his tongue.

"Jiraiya, put her down." Mom said with a smile on her face.

"This is her punishment." Jiraiya said from the top of Gamabunta's head.

"Mommy! Make him stop!" I yelled as I laughed, Gamabunta's tongue hitting a ticklish spot on my stomach.

"Come on Jiraiya, put her down now." Mom said with a slight chuckle.

Jiraiya sighed in defeat and told Gamabunta to put me down. He did and I landed on my knees, holding my stomach from the laughing. Gamabunta disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Jiraiya landed on the ground next to mom. I looked up at him, a smile on his face, and glared at him evilly. I stood back up and walked towards the front door, my eyes never leaving Jiraiya until I was inside the house. A pair of arms wrapped around my neck, and I felt a large bump in my back. I grabbed the arms and held them.

"I love you too, mom." I said with a smile. She kissed the top of my head.

"You know that I love you, Kari." She said with a smile. I tilted my head up at her and smiled at her.

She kissed my cheek softly. I leaned my head back into her chest, closing my eyes under her gaze. I opened my eyes again and met Jiraiya's eyes. I stuck my tongue out at him with a smirk that followed, he only looked at me shocked. I smiled at him and turned around in my mother's loose grasp, smiling up at her, and looking into her eyes. She smiled back at me and held me close to her.

I released myself from her grasp, putting my small hands on her stomach, waiting to feel the little life move around her stomach again. I guess that I'm lucky that I'm so patient, because I had to stand there for a good five minutes until the unborn infant moved again. I took my hands off of her stomach and started to walk upstairs to my bedroom. Jiraiya followed me and walked into my room after me, my radio playing the song _'Decembers'_ by Hawthorne Heights. He looked at all of the pictures that hung on my walls, of all of the pictures of us and my parents that hung on the walls. He smiled at me, and noticed that I looked almost exactly like an old friend of his. He walked over to my bed and sat next to me, his arm around my shoulders.

"I like the pictures that you have in here." He said with a smile.

"Thanks. I just couldn't stand to not put them up." I said as I grabbed my stuffed frog Gama off of my pillow.

"You still have that frog? What about the fox?" He asked as I smiled at him and grabbed Tsuki from the other pillow.

"Of course I still have them. A frog was the first animal that I fell in love with." I said as I cuddled the little stuffed frog in my arms.

"I can guess that you probably gave those names too, huh." He said as he looked down at the red, stuffed fox that sat next to me.

"Uh-huh, the fox is named Tsuki, and the frog is Gama." I said with a smile.

"So you named the frog after Gamabunta?" He asked; I nodded my head.

There was a loud crash downstairs and I jumped off of my bed, dashing for the stairs, running down two at a time, and jumping off from the last three. I started running towards the living room, where the crash came from, and found my mom lying on the ground holding her stomach. I knelt down next to her, grasping her hand in mine. She looked up at me with pain-filled blue eyes, and tears fell from my violet ones. She reached her hand up to my face and wiped the tears away, but quickly clenched her eyes shut when she was in pain again.

"Mom, what's wrong? What's happening?" I asked, fear and worry in my terrified 8 year-old voice.

"The baby, Kari." She managed to say, before a loud scream escaped her throat.

I quickly covered my sensitive ears, blocking out as much of the scream as possible. Jiraiya ran up behind me, dropping to one knee and lifting my mom's head off of the ground. He looked over at me, and pulled my hand away from my ear.

"Let's go Kari. We need to get your mom to the hospital." He said as I ran over to the door, tears on my cheeks.

Mom was gripping his shoulder with her right hand, her left over her stomach, and had her head hanging back over his forearm, her eyes closed in pain. I ran closely behind Jiraiya as he rounded a corner and stopped in front of the Konoha Hospital. He quickly walked inside, I was standing by my mom's head when we reached the front desk. The secretary called over a man with a stretcher, and he took mom into another room. I tried to follow them, but Jiraiya grabbed my shoulder before I could even move.

"Where are they taking her?" I asked; the tears on my cheeks glistening in the lights from the hospital.

"To get the baby out, where else." He said; his large hands on my shoulders.

I sat down in a chair next to Jiraiya, my head resting on his large forearm. He ran his hand through my hair, twirling the long, crimson locks in his fingers. He smiled down at me when I fell asleep from the countless hours of waiting.

_6 Hours Later_

"Kari, come on now, wake up." Jiraiya's voice sounded in my head. I opened my eyes and looked at him.

"What's going on?" I asked as I sat up, rubbing my eyes with my hands.

"You wanna see your baby sister, don't you?" He asked with a smile. I smiled up at him.

"Yea, I wanna see her!" I squealed happily.

"Well, let's go." He said as he grabbed my hand in his.

We walked down the large, white hallway, towards a room in the middle of the hall. Jiraiya opened the door and walked inside, dragging me right behind him. I looked towards the center of the room, at mom resting in the hospital bed with an infant in her arms. She noticed us come in, and lifted her gaze from the infant to us. She smiled at us, and waved me over with her hand, that she managed to free from the infant in her arm. I walked over and stood next to the bed, my head tilted to the side as I looked down at the infant girl. She had dad's brown hair and mom's blue eyes.

"Kari, this is your little sister, Youri." She said as she looked at my smiling face.

"Youri, huh?" I said as I looked down at the infant. "It fits." I said happily.

"Glad you think so dear." Mom said as she looked back at the smiling infant.

"It's getting late, and you need your rest Katari." Jiraiya said as he walked up behind me.

"That's true. I'll see you again tomorrow Kari, you be good for Jiraiya." She said as she rested against the pillows of her bed.

"I will mom." I said as I followed Jiraiya out of the room.

We walked back down the hallway and out the front door of the hospital. We walked down the street together to Ichiraku Ramen, talking and laughing the whole way there. We sat down at the ramen bar, our chopsticks in our hands. Ayame brought out our orders from the back and placed them in front of us.

_2 ½ Hours Later_

I was getting ready for bed, pulling my shorts on over my legs. I walked out of my bathroom and climbed onto my bed, pulling my stuffed animals towards me from the pillows. I pulled the blankets up to my chin, and flicked the lamp on my nightstand off.


	2. Chance Meeting and An ANBU Mission?

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto…but I wish I did…

Claimer: All OCs in this story are copyright to ME. If you want to use them, please PM me.

A/N: Itachi is very OOC, and that's the way that I like him… and the whole story has some modern times in it, especially with clothing and music.

_10 Years after Youri was born_

I was sitting in my room, sharpening kunai knives, when Youri walked in and started looking around my room. She noticed a dull, but still useable, kunai knife lying on the floor carelessly. She snatched it up in her hands and started running out of my room with it. I had jumped out of my bed, closely following her. I followed her down the stairs and into the kitchen when she stood against the stove, putting the kunai behind her back and playing around with it. I stopped in front of her and thrust my hand out at her.

"Youri, you give me that kunai knife back now." I said, refraining myself from yelling.

"No, I'm gonna keep it cause I'm training to be a ninja." She said as she stuck her tongue out at me.

"Youri, I said GIVE IT to ME!" I said, raising my voice a little, my eyes narrowed at her.

"No!!" She yelled back as she held the kunai in her right hand.

"NOW YOURI!!" I yelled, scaring her into giving me the kunai knife.

"Fine! Take your stupid kunai BACK!" She said, tears forming in her eyes.

I grabbed the kunai knife out of her hand and walked back upstairs, shutting and locking the door behind me. I sat there for a while, sharpening the remainder of my weapons, and practicing on the dartboard that was hanging on my wall. After I was fully satisfied with the sharpness of my kunai and shuriken, I started to pack them into my weapon holder. I had unlocked my door before I started putting my weapons away. There were footsteps outside my door, and shortly after, there was knocking on my door. I could distinguish who was knocking on my door by the sound it emitted, and figured out it was my mother.

"It's unlocked mom. Come on in." I said, grabbing another shuriken from my dartboard.

"Why don't you come downstairs for a minute." She said as she looked at all of the shuriken on the dartboard.

"I'll be there in a minute, I just had to sharpen my weapons for the mission next week." I said with a small smile on my face.

"All wrapped up in that mission, aren't you." She said with a smile on her face, her eyes shining.

"Of course. It's the first one that I've gotten in a while." I said as I closed the weapon pouch.

"Just come down when you're done." She said as she stood from the doorway. I nodded my head as I looked at my katana.

She walked away from the door, her footsteps were light on the wood floor as she walked. I smiled when I looked at the sharpened blade of my katana; the polished blade reflecting my violet eyes as I looked at it. I sheathed my sword and hung it back on my wall, out of Youri's reach. I walked out of my bedroom, which was still adorned with pictures of the family and Jiraiya, and down the stairs to the living room where mom and dad were sitting together on the couch. I walked in and sat on the recliner that was across from them, my ankles crossed when I was comfortable in the chair.

"What's up?" I asked as I looked over at them.

"Well, it's pretty big, and happened 10 years ago." Mom said, a smile forming on her face. I recognized that smile and instantly guessed what they were saying.

"Mom, are you pregnant again?" I asked her; she nodded her head. I sighed angrily and stood up from the chair.

"What's wrong Kari? Aren't you happy?" She asked as she looked up at me with her blue eyes. I started to walk over to the door, my fist clenched.

"I need to go out and train before the mission." I said as I opened the front door. "And don't wait up for me." I finished off as I walked out the door, slamming it behind me.

I walked down the empty streets of Konohagakure, my headband tied around my neck in the kunoichi fashion. My cousin Naruto is quite the troublemaker nowadays, and it's hard keeping him in line. I sighed as I remembered the day he painted the Hokage faces, my eyes closed in thought. I opened my eyes again and noticed the large Uchiha compound that was in a decent corner of the village. I looked up at the clan symbol and sighed again before I started to walk away from the compound. I made it a good half mile away before I bumped into someone, falling to the ground, and landing on my back.

"Hey, watch where you're going." A male's voice said in the darkness.

"Sorry about that. It's just dark and I have my mind on other things." I replied as I stood up from the ground.

"Hey, that's alright, just try to watch out next time." He said as a light shined on his face.

"Who are you anyway?" I asked as I looked at his onyx black eyes.

"Itachi Uchiha." He said with a deep voice. I looked at him shocked.

"I graduated the Ninja Academy with you when we were younger." I said as he looked at me.

"You're Kari Uzumaki aren't you." He said as he caught sight of my crimson hair.

"Yea, I guess my hair gave me away." I said with a small grin on my face.

"Yea, I could never forget crimson hair like yours." He said, his voice perked up a little. I smiled.

"Wanna get something to eat?" I asked as I looked at his face.

"Sure, that'll give me something to do besides train all day." He said as he walked next to me.

We walked down the street towards Ichiraku Ramen, talking about the old days from the academy. I laughed as he told me about the time he used his Katon Jutsu on one of the older kids from the academy, leaving some pretty intense burn marks on his body. He chuckled as I told him about the time that I put another kid through a wall, breaking several of his bones and severely damaging the wall. We sat together at the ramen bar, talking and laughing, both of us eating miso ramen.

"So, what's it like to be an Uchiha?" I asked as I looked over towards him.

"It's not that special, even though everyone wishes they could be an Uchiha." He said, his voice taking on an angered tone.

"Hey, it's cool. No need to get angry." I said, my hand on his shoulder. He calmed back down.

"Sorry, I always get like that when it comes to the clan." He said, his eyes cast downwards.

"Well, I'm not doing anything at all tomorrow. Wanna hang out?" I asked as I looked at the side of his face.

"Sure, that'll give me something interesting to do." He said, his eyes meeting with mine.

We sat there, eating the remainder of our ramen, making occasional comments about family and friends. He laughed at what I told him had happened this morning. I offered to pay, but he picked up the tab, insisting that he would pay the tab if I left the tip. I agreed and left the extra money on the counter. We walked around for a while before the sun started to set behind the Hokage Stone Faces. We stopped outside the Uchiha compound and Itachi put his hand on my shoulder.

"You can get home on your own, I hope." He said with a little humor. I couldn't help but smile at his comment.

"Of course I can, baka." I said as I playfully hit his arm. He laughed at my playful antics and then smirked.

"I was just making sure you were the same Kari, from all those years ago." He said as he grabbed some of my crimson hair.

"I'm not as helpless as I look." I replied with a smirk. He just smiled before he started walking into the compound.

"I'll meet you at five tomorrow." He said before he disappeared.

I sighed happily as I walked home, my hands in my pockets. Naruto would be staying over for a few days until his next mission, but he wouldn't be over until tomorrow, so I had time to relax and hang out with Itachi for a while. I walked in through the front door, sneaking through the house to get to the stairs because it was rather late at night. A light flicked on in the living room, and sitting on the couch was mom. I froze in my spot as she stood up and walked over to me, her eyes narrowed at me in anger. She stopped right in front of me, her eyes locked on mine.

"Where the hell have you been Kari Uzumaki?!" She asked in an angered voice.

"I was just at the ramen shop with a friend." I said, maintaining my composure.

"Who is this friend of yours?!" She asked again, her eyes glaring at mine, in the same voice.

"Why would you need to know? We've known each other since the academy, which should be good enough for you." I said as my voice started to rise with anger.

"Don't you DARE talk to ME with that attitude Kari!" She yelled furiously as she smacked me across the face.

"You know what? I don't give a damn anymore!" I yelled as I held the spot on my face where her hand had connected in a harsh slap.

She stared at me with shock in her eyes as she heard me talk. Tears were in my eyes, but I refused to even let her see me cry. I glared at her before I turned on my heel and ran up the stairs to my room, forcefully slamming and locking the door. I sat on my bed, the tears stinging my eyes and cheek as they fell slowly from my eyes. There were footsteps outside of my bedroom, heavy male footsteps, which could only be my father's in the hallway. He knocked on the door before he started to speak through it.

"Kari, are you ok?" He asked through the door. I glared at the door, tears still falling down my cheeks.

"No!" I yelled angrily, keeping my composure through the tears.

"What happened dear?" He asked, his voice faltering a little.

"Why don't you go downstairs and ask mom what happened. I don't wanna talk about it!" I yelled again, opening the window.

He walked away from my door, his footsteps echoing down the hall on the stairs. I unlocked the door, grabbed my weapons pouch, and jumped out the window, gracefully landing in the tree nearby. I silently walked down the side of the tree, my chakra control was perfect, and jumped off when the ground was about two feet away from where I was standing. I looked into the kitchen window and saw both of them walking up the stairs to my room. I dashed off towards the Uchiha compound, my hair covered by the black, sleeve-less sweater I was wearing. I ran into the compound, my legs carrying me to the training grounds of the compound. I stopped in my tracks when my eyes landed on Itachi standing there in the center of the grounds. He looked up and saw me standing there, my sweater was unzipped, showing off my slim figure beneath my _'Bad Religion'_ tank-top.

"You're finally here." He said, his eyes skimming over my body.

"You better believe it." I said with a small smile on my face. He walked closer to me and noticed the bruise that was forming on my cheek.

"What happened to your cheek?" He asked, tracing over it with his index finger.

"I got into some trouble at home with my mom." I said, cringing a little as his finger touched the bruise.

I turned my head to the area behind me, the scent and chakra of my father in the air. I quickly turned back to Itachi, who was staring at me with a questioning look. I simply hid my chakra, and he caught onto my scheme, while we both jumped into the trees surrounding us. My father stopped in the clearing of the training grounds, he face flushed with anger. I heard his cell phone ringing before he even pulled it out of his pocket.

"Hello." He said bitterly into the phone. Someone else was talking through the other line.

"No, I still haven't found her yet Katari. But I was close a minute ago, then she just disappeared." He said just before he hung the phone up and put it back in his pocket.

He jumped off in another direction, away from the compounds, angrily cursing under his breath. I smiled when his chakra was no longer able to be sensed by me or Kasia. I released my chakra, and Itachi released his after I did. We both jumped down out of our trees, smiling and laughing at my father's failed attempt to bring me home.

"Wow, that was way too close for comfort." Itachi said as he leaned against a tree.

"Yea, they're extremely persistent when it comes to me." I replied as I sat down in the grass.

"So, what do you wanna do?" He asked as he walked over towards me.

"I don't care. Personally, just something that I can occupy myself with so I won't have to go home." I replied, looking up into his onyx eyes.

"Well, we could go and catch a movie." He said, as he put his hand out towards me. I grabbed his hand, and he pulled me up from the ground.

"Sounds good to me." I replied, walking next to him to the small movie theater in town.

We grabbed our tickets to see the movie _'Blood Rayne'_, stopped at the concession stand to get some popcorn, and then walked into the theater to see the movie.

_2 Hours Later_

We both walked out of the theater and down the road to Ichiraku Ramen for a meal. The two of us ordered miso again, and ate as slowly as we possibly could, savoring the taste and the conversation.

"So Kari, I have a question to ask you." He said, putting his chopsticks down on the counter next to his half eaten ramen.

"Shoot." I said, placing my chopsticks next to my bowl, turning my head towards him.

"Would you, perhaps, like to go on a date with me?" He asked, his voice serious and his face slightly pleading.

"Well, I can't promise anything, but…I think I could pull some strings." I replied, a smile on my face.

"Think you could pull those strings?" He asked, his smile growing with each word.

"I think I could for you." I replied, a wide grin on my face.

He turned his head towards me, the smile never fading. I turned my attention back to my ramen, until I felt him kiss my cheek softly. I flushed red, my eyes widening with shock and embarrassment from the blush on my face. He pulled away from my cheek, my blush never fading, even when he laughed a little at my flushed face.

"First time to be kissed by someone who wasn't family?" He asked, his smile never fading.

"By a cute guy? Yes. Not related? No." I said as I looked at him.

"Then who was the other person who kissed you?" He asked, his smile fading a little.

"Don't worry about it. It's an old friend of mine from when I was a baby. You should know Jiraiya, the Toad Sage." I said as I picked my chopsticks back up.

"Oh, Jiraiya. I thought it was someone else." He said a little embarrassed as he picked up his chopsticks.

We finished eating our ramen, the day dragging on until I felt like it was time to head home. I looked to Itachi, who was actually having a great time, and then back to the scenery of our little walk around Konoha. Our fingers laced together as we walked; my face had turned to a slight shade of pink from the blush that was present on my unusually pale skin.

"Well, I think we've been keeping you out for too long." Itachi said; his voice was cheery as he spoke.

"That's ok, I enjoy spending my time with you." I replied, my blush turning a deeper shade of pink.

"No one's actually said that to me before." He said with a saddened voice. I looked over at him; his eyes were shielded by his bangs.

"Itachi, I didn't mean to say something that would hurt you." I said as I looked at him, my grip on his hand tightened a little as I tried to get his attention.

"It's not your fault, it's just that I've never been attracted to any of the other girls from my clan." He replied, his face gaining a smile as he looked up at me.

I smiled back at him, my eyes glittering in the sunlight. His eyes had a small sparkle in them from his happiness; his smile reflecting that happiness. His hand grasped mine again, our fingers re-laced with each other as we walked back towards the Uchiha compound. I looked down the road towards my house, until Itachi stopped outside of the compound that I was starting to walk past. He grasped my hand, his grip snapping me out of my thoughts and bringing me back to reality.

"Here's where I leave you Kari." He said as his eyes locked with mine.

"I guess so Itachi." I replied; my other hand grasping his.

He leaned towards me and kissed my lips. The softness of his lips made my heart melt with pleasure. He deepened the kiss when I refused to pull away, causing my heart to beat faster then it already was. He finally pulled away, his eyes holding pleasure and lust in them, his smile was heart-warming as he looked at me. I smiled at him before heading off towards home, where I never wanted to go without him at my side.

The streets of Konoha were bustling in the afternoon high-rise, when everyone was the busiest. I peeked at all of the items that I had found interesting or unique; buying some different items that seemed to stick out to me the most. I continued my slow trek home, stopping outside the front door when I got there. I opened the door slowly, my heart pounding from slight fear, but there was also adrenaline to go with it. The door finally opened up completely and I walked inside. I heard mom walking around upstairs; her footsteps were heavier than they usually are, but that mostly came from the fear of losing me. I silently walked into the living room to put the items I had bought on the table. I was so wrapped up in my little task that I didn't even notice Youri come down the stairs.

I continued to place the items on the table softly, refusing to make any kind of noise to startle mom and Youri. I gasped slightly as I heard mom's footsteps hitting the hard wood floor as she ran down the hall towards the stairs. I sighed angrily as I heard her footsteps mix with Youri's as they both ran down the stairs, my heart speeding up a little as I thought of mom hitting me again.

The footsteps stopped about ten feet behind me, where mom was standing. I could tell that she was angry by the way her foot hit the floor from the last stair on the staircase. I turned around slowly, my eyes downcast to the floor, avoiding her gaze as she stared at me. I slowly lifted my gaze towards her, my eyes a little hazy as I thought of what I would see, but when I lifted my head, she wasn't as angry as I thought she would be, she had tears in her eyes from anger and sorrow.

She walked over to me, my body slightly tensed as I prepared my self for the oncoming hit that I was sure to receive from her, but instead she pulled me into a hug. She cried silently into my shoulder, her tears dampening my sweater, soaking through it to my shoulder that was bare from the tank-top I was wearing. I was shocked at first, but steadied myself before I returned the hug, my eyes glancing towards Youri who was standing a few feet away with a small smile on her face. I nodded my head towards her, signaling her to come over to us, which she did happily. I wrapped my hand over her shoulders as she laced her arms on both of our waists.

The little reunion we were having was put on hiatus when dad slammed the door shut behind us. I shot my head up fast enough to shove mom and Youri out of the way from an oncoming punch from dad, which I blocked with ease. He retaliated my block by grabbing my hair and yanking on it, forcing me to release his hand, which he then used to grip my throat and hoist me into the air. I looked down at him, into his angry violet eyes, my heart skipped a beat when mom leaned off of the chair that I had pushed her towards, and ran at dad with her fist raised. I could only watch because dad had a decent grip on my throat that prevented me from speaking.

Mom's attack was blocked by dad's large hand as her fist came in contact with it. Dad used his male strength and pushed mom onto the floor, her head landing on the wood with a _thud_ as her body landed in a heap on the floor.

"Mommy!!" Youri yelled as she ran towards mom, who was unconscious.

Youri fell to her knees next to mom with tears streaming down her face. My eyes narrowed down at dad as he looked up at me again. I felt Kasia's power run through my body, my nails growing into claws and my teeth becoming sharp canines. I dug my claws into dad's arm, causing him to yell out in pain and drop me onto my feet. My body had flickers of black chakra around it from Kasia overdoing it. My anger wasn't something to mess with when Kasia became involved, similar to my cousin Naruto and Kyuubi.

"**Look at what you've done!**" I yelled in a demonic voice, a clawed hand pointing towards mom.

Dad turned his head slowly and looked down at mom, her head leaning off to the side, with her left arm resting over her stomach. His face faltered and then a look of fear formed on his face as he slowly walked over to mom. He kneeled down next to her, his arm under her head as he lifted her up off of the ground and held her in his arms.

"She's not moving Kari." Youri said as she looked at mom.

"**I know Youri, that's because she's unconscious.**" I said in my demonic voice.

"Is she going to be ok?" She asked; tears still prominent on her face.

"**Yes, but for now she's knocked out and needs to be put in bed.**" I replied, my voice still demonic, but it was starting to fade away.

Dad stood up from the ground, mom lying in his arms, and started to walk up the stairs to their bedroom. I followed after him, my claws and teeth still prominent, but had become shorter as Kasia had calmed down slightly. Dad walked through the open door; his face filled with sorrow, and laid mom down on the bed. Dad brushed the stray strands of her hair out of her face and off to the side. He then stood up and walked out of the room, his head hung slightly as he walked down the stairs. I moved from where I was standing, watching Youri sit next to mom, her eyes were still filled to the brim with tears. I sighed silently before I walked down the hall to my room, closing the door silently behind me. I stood in the center of my room, my eyes going over every single picture that hung on the walls. I stopped when my eyes came across the first picture of Jiraiya that I had ever gotten; when I was still an infant. I smiled as I looked at Gamabunta, and then down at Jiraiya.

"I wish you were here, Jiraiya." I said softly as I looked at his smiling face.

I sighed as I sat down on my bed; my bangs were hanging over my eyes. Youri walked into my room a few minutes later, since it had been a good half hour since we were in mom and dad's room, and sat next to me on my bed. I looked at her with anticipation as she looked at me with her blue eyes.

"Is she awake yet?" I asked as I looked down at her.

"Yea, she's awake. She wants to see you." She replied as she jumped off of my bed.

I stood up from the bed and followed her down the hall to mom and dad's room, my eyes fixed on the door that was open ajar. Youri opened the door and walked in; I quickly followed her in, closing the door behind me. I looked at the bed and saw mom smiling up at me, her eyes glittering in the dim light of the room. I smiled back at her, knowing that my canines had grown back into my normal teeth, and sat next to her on the bed.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, after guessing why the lights were so dim.

"A little better." She said with a small smile.

"Well, that's better than nothing." I said with the same small smile on my face.

I felt her hand trace the finger marks that were on my neck, and cringed slightly as she touched a sensitive mark. She put her hand back over her stomach, sighing as she noticed that my face had a hint of pain on it. I regained myself and looked back at her, an innocent smile on my face. She laughed slightly at my smile, before she put her hand on her head in pain. I looked down at her with a frown and stood up from the bed.

"I'll get you an icepack." I said as I left the room.

I walked down the stairs and across the hall to the kitchen. Dad was sitting in the living room, his eyes glued to a picture of him and mom when she was pregnant with me. I quickly dug through the freezer and pulled out an icepack. I quickly made my way up the stairs, icepack in hand, and walked into mom and dad's room. Mom saw me come in first, noticing the icepack that was in my hand, and slowly lifted her head off of the pillow. I slipped the icepack into the pillowcase and watched her rest her head back onto the pillow. I slowly sat down on the edge of the bed again, my eyes never leaving my mother. She only smiled because of that, but she didn't laugh. I smiled back at her, putting my hand over hers, resting it on her stomach. She gripped my hand in hers, squeezing it gently in her loose grasp. Youri crawled up to her on the bed, resting her head on mom's chest. Mom smiled down at Youri, kissing her head softly as she laid there, her hand releasing mine to brush against Youri's cheek. I stood up from the bed, kissed mom's forehead gently, and walked back into my room. I laid on my bed, my mind lost in the fact that I had released so much chakra from just anger.

"But it didn't help that you were working behind the scenes, did it Kasia." I whispered, receiving a growl in my head from the twelve-tailed fox.

I smirked before I fell asleep, my neck still ached from the grip that my father had on it.

_One Week Later_

I stood in the living room, decked out in my ANBU uniform, having everything on but my mask. There was a knock on the door, which I recognized as Kakashi's, and answered it. But Kakashi wasn't the only one standing there; Itachi was there as well. I looked at both men, knowing that this was Kakashi's last mission as an ANBU before he was assigned a Genin team, and grabbed my mask off of the banister of the stairwell. My hair was pulled up into a bun, to keep it from being noticed by the enemy too quickly. I walked out the door, after leaving a note for my parents, and followed the two of them to the Hokage's Mansion. Itachi and I stood completely still as Kakashi spoke with the 3rd. Itachi looked at me for a few minutes, our eyes never leaving each other, until Kakashi turned back to us with a small smile behind his mask.

"The good news is, it's a short mission. The bad news, it'll take weeks." He said as he pulled his mask on.

"Well, at least you gave us the good news first, Kakashi-senpai." I replied as I pulled my fox mask on.

"She's right, Kakashi-san." Itachi said as he looked at both of us, silently pulling his mask on.

I laughed a little before we disappeared from the room and re-appeared at the gates of Konohagakure. We stood there for a few minutes, glancing around the village once more before we left for our mission.

_Mission: First Week_

I ran next to Itachi as we neared our checkpoint for the night. It had been a week already, and our target was no where to be found; of course, this was one of the things that the Third Hokage had warned us about. The other was that this target was extremely dangerous, and highly unpredictable. The checkpoint came into view, and Kakashi slowed up a little as we approached. The checkpoint was unnaturally quiet as we came near it. I looked around, my mask still on, and listened closely to the surrounding area. Itachi and Kakashi both had their Sharingan spinning furiously as they looked around with me. I heard a slight shuffle from some fifty yards away and expertly pulled out a kunai knife.

A senbon came flying towards me, which I blocked with a quick slash of my kunai. I fell to the ground, landing in the grass without a sound. I listened around and silently threw my kunai into the bushes. A gasp was heard, followed by a growl of pain. A body came out of the bushes, the kunai knife lodged deep into the person's throat. They fell to the ground in a heap, making a small _thud_ as they hit the ground. I looked over the body, and then noticed the headband that the person was wearing.

_'A Snow Jounin? They never come this close to Konoha.'_ I thought as I ripped the headband off of the person's neck.

Kakashi looked over my shoulder, a sigh escaping his throat as he looked down at the headband in my hands.

"Do you know someone in the Land of Snow that would send a Jounin after you?" He asked; his voice was low and deep, mostly angered at the fact.

"I don't remember, but I think my aunt does." I said as I turned my head slightly to look at him.

He nodded his head at me, his eyes then turned back to the body that was lying on the ground. He sighed again and walked over to the clearing, pulling his pack off of his back. I let mine slip off of my shoulders to the ground below, my eyes scanning the area once more before I turned to set my tent up. Sensing that there was no other Jounin in the area, I started the task of setting up my single person tent.

I finished in about five minutes, my eyes looking over my work before I joined my comrades at the fire for dinner. We sat together, eating silently, while we thought about the possible future and the mission. Talk was small and it usually only consisted of past missions, and Kakashi's plans for the future as the sensei of a group of gennin. I smiled when I thought about Kakashi training Naruto, my smirk exceeding past Kakashi's liking, but I didn't mind. Kakashi put the fire out, and I walked over to my tent, my hair was taken out of the bun, so it was flying freely in the breeze behind me. I sat down on the floor of my tent, a piece of parchment on my lap, along with an ink brush. Kakashi knew that I would write once a week to my parents, just to let them know that I was ok. He never minded, just as long as I didn't spill too much information about the mission.

_Dad and mom,_

_How's everything going at home? Things are good here and, might I add, interesting. How has Youri been in the academy? I have just a small question to ask. Does Aunt Kushina live in the Land of Snow? I should get to bed now because of how late it is._

_Until next week,_

_Kari._

I sealed up the letter in a small carrying case and summoned one of my foxes, since Jiraiya never taught me toad summoning, and sent it off with the letter. I watched it run towards the way to Konoha, my eyes never leaving it until it was completely gone from my line of vision. I then walked back into my tent and laid down on my sleeping bag, my eyes closing almost instantly when my head hit my pillow.

_Mission: Final Fight, 7 Weeks Later_

The three of us were now standing in a clearing, surrounded by several jounin, who were weaker than they looked, since I had taken out at least ten with just senbon needles. We stood there, tensed, as we awaited someone to make a move. There was a rustling in the bushes to my right, in front of where Itachi was standing. The jounin turned their heads slightly towards the rustling, some of them with a relieved look on their face. My eyes caught sight of the man that was coming towards the clearing through the bushes. He was a big man, and his eyes were fierce and cold, feeling no remorse for anyone that was killed or injured. He reached behind his back and pulled out a giant mace, his eyes filled with twisted excitement as he drew his weapon. I looked at him, and then noticed the jounin starting to walk away, their footsteps catching my attention. The remainder of them all had evil smiles on their faces; their eyes were filled with a twisted hatred as they walked away. My attention quickly returned to the larger man to my right, and I started to scan him up and down, for any possible weak points on his much larger body. He was covered in a large body suit for armor, and didn't appear to have a single weak point on him, until I noticed a crack in the body armor, near his neck. I looked over to Itachi, and motioned to my neck as a sign of where to attack. He nodded his head before turning to Kakashi, showing him the same sign.

"Well, you Konoha punks didn't fare too badly against my men." He said in a deep, booming voice.

"Well, how did you think we would do?" I asked in an angered voice. He smirked at my question, and glanced down at me.

"A lot worse than you did, sweetheart." He said as he winked at me. I almost gagged under my mask.

Itachi was the first to react, by charging off towards the man, and throwing two kunai knives directed at the man's throat. He sidestepped and swung his large mace at me, which I jumped onto and ran at him, heel-kicking him in the throat. The crack in his body suit gradually increased from the continued attacks, until Kakashi finally used his katana, and sliced a giant gash into the suit. I picked out a senbon needle, and threw it towards his exposed neck. He moved slightly, and the needle only grazed his neck. I cursed under my breath as the fight continued. I tried to throw senbon needles into his neck several times, and each time I got closer and closer to killing him, but my aim was far off from perfect. He swung his mace, and I quickly leaped out of the way…or at least tried to. I felt the mace connect with my left leg, and the sickening crunch was proof that it did. I collapsed to the ground, holding my leg and writhing in pain. He grinned as he walked towards me, his mace resting on his shoulder.

"Well, now…Look how the tables have turned, my sweet." He said with a sadistic laugh as he grabbed me by the throat and held me in the air.

I was struggling to breathe from his grip; my chest felt like there was a massive weight resting on it. I caught sight of Itachi and Kakashi charging in the background. Itachi's sharingan was spinning wildly as he closed in on the larger man. I silently watched as Itachi closed in on the man, my hands pulling on his single, larger hand. Itachi came up from behind him and furiously drove his sword through the man's neck. He gasped loudly and dropped me to the ground. I crawled away and found Kakashi crouching near-by. He carefully picked me up as the man fell, and we were soon starting our way back to Konohagakure.


End file.
